Fear Less

Interview:   In this gripping episode of the Fear Less podcast, we sit down with TJ, a member of the elite Air Force Special Warfare Pararescue team, also known as PJs. TJ gives us an inside look into the harrowing world of a Pararescue jumper, whose primary mission is to rescue and provide medical treatment to downed pilots, special forces operators, and others who find themselves in danger behin...

Interview:  In this compelling episode of "Fear Less," host Will and Zack interview Max Augliere, a professional spearfishing guide. The discussion explores the physical and mental challenges of one of the world's most dangerous sports: free-dive spearfishing.  Max shares the intricacies of spearfishing in the open ocean without scuba equipment and details the sport's hazards, which include marine...

Interview: In this episode of Fear Less, we delve into the world of parenting anxious youth with Mountain Valley's parent coach, Dr. Lisa Rosen. With her background in psychology, Lisa is the driving force behind the Mountain Valley Treatment Center's robust parent coaching program. Having earned her BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and her doctorate in clinical psychology from...

Interview:  In this episode of the Fear Less podcast, we sit down with Gray Thomas, a Middlebury College student, lacrosse player, and former resident at Mountain Valley Treatment Center . Gray shares the story of stepping back from college, sports, and life to face his fears head-on and enroll at Mountain Valley. During our conversation, Gray shares the valuable lessons he learned through Exposur...

Interview : As an ultra-distance runner and professional explorer, Ray has set numerous records in the most extreme environments on earth--from the Sahara Desert to the South Pole. After several years of quiet success as a professional mountain biker and ultra runner, Ray exploded onto the expedition scene with an incredible feat: running across the entire North African continent in 111 days. This...

Interview: In this episode, host Will Laughlin is joined by world-class swimmer, scholar, educator, and actor, Kurt Kroesche.  Kurt shares candidly about his life-long battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its pervasive influence on his life and achievements. From his early days, Kurt was haunted by an overwhelming fear of contracting cancer, which shaped his thoughts, actions, and l...

In this episode, Will and Zack chat with therapist and mental health innovator, Isabelle Tierney.  Isabelle is the brain and force behind Stress Reset (stressreset.co) and two other mental health and wellness companies. As founder and CEO of Stress Reset, Isabelle's mission is to deliver effective stress management solutions to corporations globally to improve employee retention, productivity, and...

Interview:  In this episode of the  Fear Less Podcast , Nevada firefighter, paramedic, ultra-runner, and adventurer Jill Andersen, describes her epic life of risk with humility and humor.  Jill fights wildfires and structure fires; conducts aquatic, helicopter, and backcountry search and rescue operations; and provides life-saving medical care as part of the very busy Lake Tahoe/Incline Village Fi...

In this episode hosts Zack and Will explore how restorative practices such as mindfulness, breathing, yoga, rest, and play can turbocharge the hard work of exposure-based therapy, vastly improving outcomes. They compare this combination of complementary approaches to the work-rest approach of athletes and other high performers. This episode also delves into our physical responses to anxiety, the b...

If you've ever heard exhortations like "Get back on the horse!" or "Face your fears!" or "Do something that scares you every day!" then you are at least vaguely familiar with the concept behind exposure therapy.  But these quotes belie the highly sophisticated, evidence-based nature of actual exposure therapy, known more formally as exposure and response prevention therapy, or ERP.  In today's epi...

In this episode, hosts Will and Zach delve into the pressing issue of teenage anxiety, a struggle that many parents are seeking to understand and address. They explore the concept of 'Hikikomori,' a term born in Japan that encapsulates the all-too-common response to fear: avoidance. Will, drawing on his unique experience as a college president in Japan in the late 90s, shares insights into how thi...

In this inaugural episode of the Fear Less podcast, hosts Will Laughlin, MA, M.Ed., and Zack Shafer, MS, OTR/L, kick off their mission to help listeners gain freedom from limiting fear and anxiety.   As they share anecdotes from their personal and professional journeys, Will and Zack discuss their shared goal of helping listeners make Fear Less—less bossy, less controlling, less limiting and, well...